This invention relates to a communication system for interconnecting radios and operators located at different positions. It is believed to be particularly applicable to such systems when located on a vehicle such as an aircraft or a ship where sophisticated radio facilities are required.
One conventional system of the aforementioned type, for use on an aircraft, has used a general purpose computer programmed so that an operator can enter, into the computer, a request for a particular radio facility; whereupon the computer establishes which one of several radios is available to provide that facility and links the operator to that radio. In practice it has been found that the programming of a general purpose computer to do this job is very complex. Furthermore it may be difficult for an operator to be sure that the computer is working correctly at any one time and a fault in the computer or in its programme can result in a complete breakdown of the system. By employing the present invention it is believed that the aforementioned disadvantages can be overcome or at least reduced in severity.